A Buddhist Pilgrimage, Kumano Kodo

Kumano Kodo, Wakayama


The mountains of Japan
Kumano
Kodo is an ancient Buddhist pilgrimage road connecting
the three
Japanese areas of  Ise, Osaka and Wakayama’s Kumano area in
the
South
of
the Kii Peninsula. This old roadalso connects Takano and Yoshino.
This
area is a place of miraculous old mountain religion stories, people
were visiting the holy land of Kumano, as it was called in the old
days.
 On
7 July 2004,The UNESCO named the area a World Heritage Site, and as a
result more people come to travel this hiking road.

map of the Kumano Kodo


Nachi Water fall is part of Kumano KodoKumano Kodo is
a  spiritual  attraction more than anything, with
sites like the Nachi Falls.
 With a height
of 133m, and a width of 13m this big waterfall, reminds us of a no so
distant past when the area was covered in virgin forest. You cannot help

but feel the holiness of nature at this site, with the strenght of the
water and the majesty of the mountains.  You can feel the kami
surrounding you. 
 Kumano
Nachi Taisha is located near and it arose from the worship of

nature, the
Kami
and waterfalls.



Kumano Kodo, cobbled pilrimage roadAfter seeing the
falls,you can go to Iseji to the cobbled street, also a symbol
of the Kumano Kodo.
 This
road is said tohave been  made in the Kamakura period (
1185–1333),
with a length of 650m, and a denivelation of about 100m, it makes for a
nice stroll. 
 Mossy
stones and mist, a couple of 800 years old cedar who were considered
the gateway to the ancient holy sites are some of the beauty you can
expect. 
 Around
the road remains an  intact, strong and dense forest, so we
can feel the same reverence for nature that people felt of old.
 This
road is still a pilgimage road and it is deeply rooted in the mentality
of the people in the region.



The Kumano Honju Grand ShrineThe Kumano Kodo is
closely linked to Shugendo, an old semi-native religion of Japan that
mixes Shintoism, Buddhism and Shamanism.  As such it connects
various holy sites like the Kumano Hongu Grand Shrine and a series of
small temples.